20 Questions for Kim Wilde

The pop icon talks to us via video link from her studio in southern England about her new album ‘Closer,’ her abstinence from alcohol, water baths, and fitness at 65.

Kim, an incredible 18 years ago, in an interview with me, you made the bold claim that even Axl Rose wouldn’t easily outdrink you. Does that still hold true?
(Laughs) That was a really long time ago! My relationship with alcohol isn’t at all the same as it was back then. I haven’t touched a drop in eight years.

Really?
Yes. At first, I only wanted to try abstinence for a month, but then I stuck with it and abstained completely. In retrospect, I can only congratulate myself on that decision. I feel infinitely clearer-headed without all the drinks than before. And overall, you’re just fitter, in a fundamentally better mood.

Have you also changed your eating habits?
I cook healthy meals, but I eat absolutely everything. I love food too much to give up anything.

The last song on your new album is called ‘Savasana,’ like the final relaxation pose in yoga. Do you practice yoga?
Yes. Yoga is an integral part of my exercise routine.

The word “exercise routine” sounds like extensive training…
Oh yes, you’d be surprised (laughs)! I have a trainer, and we really do everything. Strength exercises with weights, cardio, flexibility, stretching. I’m convinced that I also feel better mentally when I challenge myself physically. At 64, I believe more than ever that life can get better and better. And that age doesn’t have to stand in your way.

An insight that has matured over the years?
A good year ago, an event occurred that fundamentally changed my relationship with my body. I suffered a severe herniated disc. Not only was that extremely painful, but it also really scared me. It’s hard when your body suddenly stops cooperating.

Do you find it disconcerting that you turned 64 last November?
On the one hand, I’m happy to have even reached that age. When you’re 20 or 30, you can’t even imagine being that old. On the other hand, I feel at least ten years younger. Oh, if not more. In my mid-50s, I wasn’t nearly as good as I am now.

And your back is okay again?
My back is like new. It didn’t happen overnight, but with patience and discipline. We went on our traditional pre-Christmas tour at the end of last year, and I love moving more than ever. Most of the new album is truly full-throttle pop, very danceable, very positive. And my band is really loud. We make a lot of noise.

‘Closer’ is their first studio album since 2018 and, so to speak, the late successor to the 1988 album ‘Close’. What was special about that record back then?
My brother Ricky and I always considered ‘Close’ to be my strongest, most personal, and overall most coherent album. With ‘Closer,’ we picked up the thread from back then, including some themes like my concern for the environment, which was addressed in ‘Stone’ and now in ‘Hourglass Human’.

‘Hourglass Human’ is a pretty angry-sounding song.
Very good. And that’s how it should be, because it makes me damn angry to witness what people are doing not only to other people, but also to our planet. It’s our right to despair of humanity. However, we shouldn’t leave it at that. We should at least try to make a few changes for the better. And, of course, start with ourselves.

What do you suggest?
More kindness! More friendliness! More warmth! Why do we always have to put others and ourselves down? Why don’t we just be kind? To ourselves, to those close to us, to strangers? I’m sure that’s also a matter of practice.

When did you learn to treat yourself kindly?
I was 21 when I was on ‘Kids in America.’ I remember how happy I was about the success. But I also haven’t forgotten that it came at a price. Suddenly I was famous, practically growing up in the public eye, and putting a lot of pressure on myself, which wasn’t good for me. Even at over 40, I could still be quite harsh on myself. As I gained more life experience, I understood more and more how important a healthy relationship with myself is. All of these things—exercise, yoga, and abstaining from alcohol—are part of this self-care. But there’s something else that shouldn’t be underestimated.

What?
How much it helps to remove people from your life who aren’t good for you. If people treat you badly, don’t waste time with them. Get rid of them. Fortunately, today I’m surrounded by people who love me and whom I trust. (Kim Wilde told us before the interview that she didn’t want to talk about her divorce two years ago from ex-husband Hal Fowler, an actor with whom she was married for 26 years and has two adult children. Now the line buzzes. She asks, amused, “Are you being attacked by a bear right now?!”)

I wanted to ask about your children. Harry and Rose are 26 and 24. What are they up to?
I’m amazed at how musical they are. Rose has been singing in a soul band for some time, and Harry is the guitarist in the highly successful rock band Wunderhorse. Music is extremely important to us, as it was in my parents’ house.

Your father, Marty Wilde, not only co-wrote your early hits, but was also a well-known rock singer in England in the 1950s and 1960s and is still active today…
The 1960s were an incredible decade for music. The Beatles were the constant, and there were so many other great bands. It was wonderful to be young in that era and absorb it all.

To this day, you write the vast majority of your songs together with your brother, Ricky Wilde, who is a year younger than you. Ricky’s daughter, Scarlett Wilde, is also involved; she occasionally sings along, for example, in ‘Hourglass Human’. What characterizes the relationship between you and your brother?
Our unconditional love of music. We grew up with pop music, and Ricky and I have similar tastes. We idolized the Beatles and Motown, later we were into 70s glam rock, Roxy Music, and Gary Numan. All of these influences appear once again on ‘Closer.’ If you don’t mind, I’d like to quote Beethoven at this point. (She searches her phone, and when it doesn’t work right away, she curses it with harsh words.) Here: “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” This line is his. Beethoven speaks 100 percent from the hearts of my brother and me.

I can’t even think of that many sister-brother duos in pop music. The most famous are probably Billie Eilish and Finneas, right?
I’ve never met them, but I’d love to. I’m a huge fan of their work. When I see how close the two of them are with each other, it actually reminds me of Ricky and me. We’ve been working together for more than 40 years, and we’ve never gotten bored. We still encourage each other and love exploring new musical directions.

You can definitely tell from your music who your role models are. ‘Midnight Train,’ for example, sounds contemporary, but also heavily 80s-esque. ‘Lighthouse’ is wistful…
That’s right, ‘Midnight Train’ definitely has a Duran Duran feel to it. ‘Lighthouse,’ on the other hand, is a personal song about the changes that have happened in my life recently. When Ricky sent me the music, I was looking out the window at the sea and the boats. That’s when I started writing these lyrics.

Do you like the sea?
I love the sea! Just recently, I was in Portsmouth and went for a quick swim.

In winter?
Yes, sometime towards the end of the year. I don’t mind if the water is cold. I like to go in, whatever the weather. It’s not for very long, but I love the feeling that water gives me. It’s such a euphoria. I even have a small pool in my garden at home, more like a water barrel, which I sit in at least once a week.